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Sprint Weekend
Sprint13h 31m
Max Verstappen says Red Bull "need to understand" why they struggled for balance after he qualified sixth in Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "I guess we out-qualified one car, but yeah, just a bit tricky to find the grip, the balance. It was already a step forward from FP1, but of course still lacking a little bit to be a little bit further up the road. It's something that we need to understand. Now, what we can do with the balance for tomorrow, to find a bit more grip, really, to close the gap a bit."
Liam Lawson says his Sprint Qualifying exit in SQ2 at Zandvoort was frustrating despite feeling good in the Red Bull on his first day back with the team as a substitute for the injured Isack Hadjar. Lawson said: "Yeah. Honestly, I don't really know. Obviously it's been an interesting day. Normally, you sort of improve through Quali, and we started SQ1 quite strong, then we didn't make the same step that everybody else did. We'll look into it. There's a lot, obviously, to learn today. So far, honestly, I feel quite good in the car. I was honestly feeling okay through Quali, I thought we'd get through, so it's a shame."
George Russell said taking Sprint pole for the Dutch Grand Prix was a reminder that he “still” has it, after a season in which he has been unexpectedly outperformed by Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli. Russell said: "It's been a little while since I've been top of the timesheets in any session. I can't even remember the last time. It's good to remind myself I've still got it and haven't forgotten how to drive. The break came at a good point."
Fernando Alonso says Aston Martin needs to optimise Honda’s upgraded engine after driveability problems made it “difficult to stop the car” in sprint qualifying at Zandvoort. Alonso said: "Free practice was more or less okay but in qualifying we had problems on the engine. Driveability was pushing on the braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was over-delivering. And then apparently the SLM mode didn't work for me so I could not open the rear wing. A combination of both made the laps very tricky. When you brake and the throttle is open, it's difficult to stop the car."
Lewis Hamilton says subtle changes after first practice left him with a “completely different car” as he struggled for pace in sprint qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "FP1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but when we got into qualifying, it was a completely different car. We need to figure out what went wrong, and we'll do our best tomorrow."
Williams team principal James Vowles said keeping Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz at the team for the foreseeable future is a major boost for a “hurting” Williams during a season that has not gone to plan. Vowles said: "It's [Williams] a team that's hurting; there's no doubt about it. We're not where we want to be; this is not what we planned for. So to have the news that two of your leaders are by your side, growing with you, and believe in the journey you're on is incredibly powerful for an organisation, especially when we're asking what we are to them."
Carlos Sainz Jnr says his Williams has had to revert to less competitive components for the rest of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend after he damaged parts in practice by running into what he called Zandvoort’s “aggressive” gravel, with the team “tight” on spares until an upgrade in Azerbaijan. Sainz said: "I struggled a lot this morning with the balance of the car and unfortunately went off into the gravel a few times. We damaged quite a lot of parts on the car, so in my FP1 I couldn't run with the right components and the components that we have to put on the car for the rest of the weekend are not the best in terms of downforce and performance delivery. We are a bit tight on everything until we get the upgrade in Baku."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari are “one step away from where they belong” as he looks ahead to the title fight heading into the Dutch Grand Prix following Formula 1’s summer break. Hamilton said: "I'm enjoying where we are. It's amazing to come out of a break and be in a scenario where we're right in the mix with the top four teams, second in the championship, Ferrari one step away from where they belong. Our goal is to make that next step. It's not going to be easy against Mercedes or even the other two teams [McLaren and Red Bull] because I think they've all done a really great job."
George Russell admitted his confidence “wasn’t exactly at my highest” coming into the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. Russell said: "I've got to be honest, I came into this weekend with a real open mind because I had no idea how it was going to go, confidence level wasn't exactly at my highest, but just trying to remember that feeling of what I needed from myself and the car, and just go in and almost treat it like the first race of the season again and not overthink things."
Fernando Alonso said problems with Aston Martin’s upgraded Honda power unit were a key factor in his sprint qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Alonso said: "Free practice was more or less ok, but in qualifying, we had problems on the engine drivability. It was pushing under braking, so it was difficult to stop the car sometimes because the engine was overdelivering. Then, apparently, the SLM [straight line mode] didn't work for me, so I could not open the rear wing. A combination of both made the laps very tricky."
Charles Leclerc said he delivered his "best qualifying lap this year" as he qualified third in Sprint Qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix. Leclerc said: "I will have preferred to start first but at the end of the day, I'm very happy about today because honestly, I think it's my best Qualifying lap this year. That means we are doing something right also with the feeling."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari need to “figure out what went wrong” after his SF-26 felt “completely different” in Dutch Grand Prix sprint qualifying following subtle set-up changes made after sole practice at Zandvoort, with the seven-time world champion seventh and half a second behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in third. Hamilton said: "P1 felt good. We made subtle adjustments to the car, but when we got into qualifying it was a completely different car, so we need to figure out what went wrong and then we'll do our best tomorrow."
Lando Norris said it was “a little bit disappointing” to qualify second for the Zandvoort Sprint after Mercedes’ George Russell beat him to pole by 0.041 seconds. Norris said: "I think I'm reasonably happy. It's still a good position. It was a reasonable lap and, considering how close it was, it easily could have been first or fourth or fifth. Close between all the teams, which is exactly what we expected. But of course, a little bit disappointing to be P2 instead of P1."
Max Verstappen says Red Bull needs to understand how to improve the balance and grip of its RB22 after he qualified seventh for the sprint at Zandvoort. Verstappen said: "It was just a bit tricky to find the grip, the balance. It was already a step forward from FP1, but of course still lacking a little bit to be a little bit further up the road. But it's something that we need to understand now: what we can do with the balance for tomorrow to find a bit more grip, really; a bit of balance, a bit of grip to close the gap a bit."
Kimi Antonelli says an off in the first phase of sprint qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix left his Mercedes with “a couple of holes in the floor”, as he ended up fifth on the grid for Saturday’s sprint race. Kimi Antonelli said: "I had a couple of holes in the floor [after the off]. So when I came in, they initially said it was a loss of 25 points. They tried to repair as much as possible, but the damage was still there. I was struggling a lot at low speed. It is what it is."
Isack Hadjar will miss this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix after injuring his wrist in a gym session. Red Bull and seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez, who shares a physiotherapist with Hadjar, both urged him not to rush back. Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies said: “We have no reason to take any risk with him… We take zero risk.” Red Bull says it is “too early” to confirm a return date, but is targeting Monza.
"It's great to be back here after the break. It's a circuit I love. It needs a lot of commitment. It was a tough end to the first half of the year and I'm really happy to come back. "The lap felt really good. It all came together really nicely. It's always difficult these Sprint Qualifyings with just one shot on the soft tyre. The track always takes a step, the grip takes a step. "McLaren look quick, Ferrari look quick but I'm glad to pull it off when it matted. It's only Sprint Qualifying. The big points on Sunday so I will try to carry this momentum into tomorrow."
George Russell claimed his third sprint pole of the season for Mercedes in a Zandvoort Formula 1 sprint qualifying where the top four were split by less than a tenth of a second.
P1) George Russell – 1:11.567 P2) Lando Norris: +0.041 P3) Charles Leclerc: +0.055 P4) Oscar Piastri: +0.099 P5) Kimi Antonelli: +0.227 P6) Max Verstappen: +0.527 P7) Lewis Hamilton: +0.624 P8) Pierre Gasly: +1.011 P9) Gabriel Bortoleto: +1.016 P10) Arvid Lindblad: +1.170 Knocked Out (Q2) P11) Liam Lawson P12) Yuki Tsunoda P13) Franco Colapinto P14) Nico Hülkenberg P15) Esteban Ocon P16) Alexander Albon Knocked Out (Q1) P17) Oliver Bearman P18) Carlos Sainz P19) Lance Stroll P20) Valtteri Bottas P21) Sergio Perez P22) Fernando Alonso
Sky Sports F1 reporter Craig Slater said Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar has a “slight” wrist injury that is a “hairline crack”, with the expectation he will return for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza after sitting out the Dutch Grand Prix. Slater said: "It's a slight injury, hairline crack. They consulted the team doctor, they had a hand specialist involved and it's a precaution that he's not racing this weekend, to not risk things getting worse. The expectation is with a fair wind, he should be back for Monza, is what I'm hearing. But it certainly wasn't the case that he hit a bag and damaged his hand. It's something that emerged the next morning."
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